Making a Knife Sheath from Birch Bark - Finnish Folk скачать в хорошем качестве

Making a Knife Sheath from Birch Bark - Finnish Folk

The process of making sheath for my puukko using oak, birch bark and sinew. This Autumn I took a little project of redoing the sheath of my Puukko. I managed to film the process of how I currently craft knife sheaths. THE WOOD WORK I fell a standing dead oak tree with a small diameter with a straight cut. By big roads the forests are often left alone and forgotten, meaning it is a great source of fire wood. At times, I process firewood and store it for later, discreetly in different places in the forests. I process wood slowly and store it on location to prevent me from caring heavier weights in once or overworking my wrist later. I guess it's a squirrel approach to wood processing. The day of the filming I bring with me one piece of oak with a pretty knot to deal later. From this piece of wood I carve a wooden inlay for the knife sheath. Please note carving is not a craft of mine; I only carve when I need something. It is usually fun but I lack on skills and efficient strikes with the hatchet. I chose to carve dry oak instead of the also available dry birch because oak is harder to carve with, leaving me with a good opportunity to learn. In Scotland during the Summer Solstice’s fires, it was traditional to burn a combination of oak and birch. As my knife has a birch burl handle, adding oak wood felt to be a joyful union. THE WEAVING WORK At the moment my stock of birch bark is good, giving me the luxury of choosing which kind of birch bark to weave with. Birch bark varies in thickness, colour and texture; for bigger projects thicker bark is advised, and for smaller and detailed projects thinner bark is usually used. In my modest experience I prefer thicker bark for both small and big projects; although it’s more difficult to weave, less flexible, and less elegant, I enjoy the sturdiness this kind of bark offers. Happiness is often found on hard work:) The process starts with cutting the bark strips. I tend to sew them together so I don’t have to replace them so often. Water, water and soap or oil can be used in the bark. There are some important steps registered: -The beginning pattern 5:10 (folding weaves asymmetrically to prevent having to replace them all at same time) -the side twists 5:16 (need to happen in the left and right side) -the meeting of the weaves 5:25 and 6:02 (front and back) -the turn back of the weaves 6:28 -the final overlaying of the first bare weaves 6:38 . The bark will change the next few days after it's weaved, it loosens up a bit, I don’t know why, I just know it does; which can be a big deal on knife sheaths, specially when the handles are pretty much straight and do not have a thicker center. Weaving tight is important. There is a small folk tune sang in the video while I worked, sympathy for the broken voice, it was still dealing with a flu. SINEW PROCESS To attach the knife to the belt I use a thin cordage made of back sinew, processed with a smooth rock and a dull butter knife. I use a Fishermans knot on the cordage. There are other ways to attach the sheath to the belt, but this is working well with my moves and habits, and it's simple. NOTES About the Puukko The puukko knife I use is made by a blacksmith; I am using it daily for a year and planning on using it for a while. Next one will be a bit different. Consider supporting your local blacksmith! About the Leuku The knife I wear in the beginning of the video is a Leuku from Ahti, a Finnish brand. About birch trees Birch trees do not dye after taking the bark away, if the harvesting does not damage the inner bark. The tree will grow a new skin, darker in colour and a bit leathery feeling to it. In some parts of Russia this second bark is harvest again and used in different crafts. The best is to harvest it in a sustainable way. I got asked if i use filters; i use a 40 year old lens with a modern digital camera, which gives a natural vignette, but also create more diverse and sudden odd colouring.